Hollowed Gamer
by LGP01
Summary: I died rather suddenly at the hands of a hollow, only to become one in the end. But, they would be wrong to assume that I was like them. For, I am a gamer. And that just makes the difference. Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!
1. Chapter 1

After having taken the time to 'neutrally' and 'objectively' analyse my life from the moment I was aware of my surroundings (and myself) until now, I realized that I was not a really fortunate guy. I would even say that I am somewhat cursed by someone who the majority of the population refer to as "Lady Luck".

Just to give a sample of my misery, my name would suffice. I am Dick Daniel Junior. And right now, I am in the process of dying.

You know, when your life story begins flowing in front of you and all you can do is just watch and accept it. Well, let us say that I am not very fond of what I am seeing if that wasn't already clear.

Orphan at six. My parents died in a car accident. Since then, my uncle took me. You know, just like in those clichés movies, he was exactly the always drunk uncle. Hitting his wife, his kids, me. Well, you get what I mean to say. His company was not very 'enjoyable'. Very far from it.

Then there were my cousins. Not even worth being called family. But at the same time, I understood where they were coming from. With what they had as an education, I was almost surprised by their behaviour. Always picking on me. What made it worse? They were older than me by 3 years, and they were twins. So you get where I am going. And I wouldn't even get started on my aunt.

But if I were to tale you my whole life story, we would not get anywhere and you would get bored pretty fast.

So let's skip to the cause of my demise and how it happened.

I was just taking a little walk on a Sunday when I noticed something blurry on my left. Not paying it any attention since...it was just something blurry. I continued my little stroll. Humming a little song to entertain myself.

Then BLAM! Something just sent me flying around like a ragdoll, I ended up smashing against something really hard. Probably breaking my back and neck in the process. Then that was it.

The pain didn't last long. I wasn't even sure of what truly happened.

Then I blinked, and up. Suddenly, I was standing beside my bloody carbon copy, I remarked a strange chain protruding from my chest as I was busy checking myself out and panicking.

But then a strange howl-like noise attracted my attention. Bringing me out of my confused mind. That's when things began going to shit. Well, that's what I believed. As I shifted around, I noticed a ridiculous monkey-like thing just about 20 meters away from me. A skull-like mask with grinning white teeth in its...face? Not giving it a second though, I began running for my life. Not even 10 steps away and my chest was crushed rather viciously by one of its members.

And that's how I ended up reminiscing about my life as my assassin slowly and deliberately brought my corpse close to its face. With how fast it all happened, I could only stare as it opened its mouth and then I knew no more than darkness.

That's how I died.

Or so I believed until a red screen appeared in front of my face.

 *** Warning: Soul Merging Detected ***

 **I don't know how long it took**

 *** Dominating Hollow Souls ***

 **Could have been years, yet could have been seconds.**

 *** Domination Successful ***

 *** Congratulations! You have successfully dominated the hollow! You have been reincarnated as a regular hollow! ***

 **But then, my brain seemed to finally reboot. I was finally able to think coherently.**

 *** New status acquired ***

'What the fuck is this?' I kept asking myself as I, rather dumbly, continued to stare at the screen in front of me. From an outsider's viewpoint, I would have appeared to just blankly stare into the open maze that was the Menos Forest. Not that I could tell where I currently was.

Shaking my head rapidly to clear away my confusion, I returned to stare blankly at the screen. Reaching out tentatively with my hand, I was startled to see a dark furred appendage appear in my field of vision. A squeal is what I would like to call what came out of my mouth but I knew it wasn't one. It didn't have the slightest resemblance to a humanly possible voice.

I wanted to panic, or, at least, felt like I needed to. But I was strangely calm. Too calm even.

' what the hell is wrong with me?' I meant to voice those thoughts and yet again, only grow-like noises came out of my mouth.

After taking a moment to really calm myself, I decide to focus on the screen that has yet to leave my field of vision and brushed my 'hand' on the last line of words. I was not even surprised when another screen popped up. But instead of being red, this one was bright blue while the words were colored in dark gray.

 *** Would you like to see your status screen? ***

I blinked. This seemed oddly familiar.' Why not?'

The words were replaced by new ones, it looked like this thing was responding to my thoughts.

Name: Dick Daniel Junior (Dick)

Race: Basic Average Hollow

Lvl 15 next [0%]

HP: 1500/1500 reg/min (1%)

Reiatsu: 750/750 reg/min (1%)

Str: 25

Dex: 20

Sta: 25

Int: 10

Wis: 10

* **Skills** *

\- Gamer's Mind (lvl max) (passive): Keeps the mind calm. Prevent mental status from taking effect.

Note: This skill make of you an oddity amongst hollows as you do not suffer the hunger felt by all your peers.

\- Gamer's Body (lvl max) (passive): Allows the user to live like a game character.

Note: This skill make of you an oddity as you are able to evolve even if bitten by your peers.

\- Garganta Creation (lvl max) (active): Allows the user to rip space to travel between the three worlds. Reiatsu cost per use: 10

\- Weak Hiero (lvl 01)(45%) (passive): Harden the user's skin. This skill is always on but it can be activated for a higher protection. Cost per higher use: 50 R per minute.

* **Perk** *

Hollow Absorption: Allows the user to freely absorb others via bite.

Okay, if it really is what I think it is, then I did good in reading 'The Gamer' and watching SAO. Just to be sure (because it was rather disbelieving to say the least) I reopened my status again. Then closed it. And continued like that for about a dozen times until my doubts subsided.

I didn't know how to feel. It was strange to either be trapped in a videogame or becoming a game character. It was troubling. There was some part of me that felt happy for the change. And there was some other parts that were suppressed by Gamer's Mind.

Anyway, I still haven't figured out what happened to me. Did I die and got reincarnated? Thinking about it, maybe the game had an answer to that.

Bringing out my status screen once again.

 *** Basic Average Hollow: like its name indicates, it is the basest and weakest form/class of a hollow. ***

' Okay, what is a hollow.'

 *** A hollow is a soul which have had too many regrets to pass on peacefully and move to the afterlife otherwise known as the Soul Society. ***

I blinked and reread it several times to be sure that I understood what was presented to me. ' So let's just assume that I died and got my soul transformed into a devil. A weak ass devil.' My assumption made, I began scanning my surroundings for the second time. I was a dark sandy forest. The trees were huge and there was no visible sky in the horizon. Not sure where the lights were coming from though.

Just as if waiting for me to cope with my current predicament, a quest decided to appear before me.

 *** New Quest: Evolve 1 ! ***

* You have been reincarnated as the weakest possible version of a hollow. Starting from scratch, you have to fight for your survival and evolve into an Adjuchas in two months.*

* Your current predicament prevents you from suffering mental deterioration, as such, you will skip the basic transformation into Guillian and immediately become an Adjuchas upon evolution *

 **Success** :

\- Evolution into Adjuchas.

\- 2 perk points.

\- 100 stats points.

 **Failure** :

\- True Death.

I knew stuff like that would happen soon. Well, better start finding out what I can do with my current body.

As if answering me, a hollow appeared in front of me out of nothing. It appeared to have taken quite a beating if the way it was clutching its stomach and howling madly was any indication.

Strange how I was provided with a weakened enemy to begin with. Meh, might as well consider it a tutorial of some sort. Acting quickly since it didn't seem to have noticed me yet, I lunged at its unprotected back and punched with all my strength. The beast doubled over and fell forward. I did not waste time and kicked. It let out another pained shriek and caught my foot as I went in for another hit. The hollow gave it a quick tug and tackled me. We rolled on the sand and out of idea, I instinctively jagged my teeth at the base of it's neck while it let out a howl from the pain. And began flailing its arms around. Trying to push me away but it could do little to shrug me off. I bit down with all my might and managed to tear off a part of its neck while doing my best to keep it from doing the same to me. I did not stop there though and continued devouring it mercilessly. It was over quickly. The hollow could not do anything in its injured and battered form while I kept sucking away its strength.

Thankfully, Gamer's Mind exists. I wouldn't be able to cope with any of these if not for that skill. I did not even know how I was capable of eating or where the idea came from. I just ate.

[Name: Dick Daniel Junior (Dick)

Lvl 15 next 90%]

Wow, if this was this easy to level up, I would only need to eat around a couple of dozen of these weaker hollows to evolve. So I thought but I didn't know yet that to evolve into an adjuchas would take thousands of them. The problem was, where to find them.

I wouldn't try to just wander around, simply because I don't want to meet a hollow stronger than me.

After thinking about it for awhile, I decided to wait here for them to show up. If there weren't any hollows nearby, then I would assume that this was some kind of safe zone for now.

And waiting I did. And damn, I got bored pretty fast. So I brought up my skill screen to see if I could try to grind them while waiting.

'Weak Hiero it is then'. I didn't even know how to activate it so, to test it out. I first pinched my hand to test the resistance, then

'weak hiero'. Since the game was responding to my thoughts, I figured out that I could activate it like this. And so, the minutes were but mere seconds to me.

I managed to get hiero to a decent level of 4 by the time another hollow decided to show up via another garganta.

Though, this one was immediately aware of my presence, I wondered why. I made quick work of that one too, I realized after fighting it for a few seconds that it was just a mindless beast. It made my job way too easy for me. Though, I had to use my teeth once again. Plus, I had Hollowed Absorption. I'm pretty sure that's why I'm so inclined to bite my opponents.

 *** Congratulations! Your level went up by one!***

 *** Congratulations! You gained the skill detect presence!***

 *** Would you like to allocate your stat points?***

' Hell yeah!'

Name: Dick Daniel Junior

Lvl 16 next (70%)

HP 1600/1600 (reg 16/min)

Reiatsu 800/800 (reg 8/min)

Str: 25

Dex: 20

Sta: 25

Int: 10

Wis: 10

Stat Points: 10

With a mask probably on my face, I couldn't really grin. But I still felt like laughing like the crazy guy I became. And God, It came out like some horrific sounds.

I wouldn't try laughing once again for a while.

Anyway, I dumped all my stat points into strength since I didn't really see the use for the likes of Int and Wis for now.

With that, I checked that new skill of mine that would quite probably come in handy.

 **Detect Presence lvl 1 (0%) (active)** : Allow the user to detect other beings. Beware, there are beings which can hide their signature presence, as such, detecting them would require a higher level of this skill. Current range: 10 meters. Cost: 10 R/min.

*R stands for Reiatsu.*

At level one, it would be pretty much useless. But with such a low cost, I would activate it as long as I could.

'Detect Presence' And so I activated it. And was quite disappointed. I felt nothing special around me. But seeing the slight dent in my reiatsu, I guessed it was activated.

For now, I would wait here and practice on these two skill until I get them into a decent level or another hollow shows up and see if I could get to create any skill just from practicing.

Too bad, another hollow decided that instant to show up. And damn it if this one was not ugly.

It was like the combination of a cockroach and a larvae. Felt like throwing up, but gamer's mind intervened. Plus, I do not even know if I could still vomit.

In the end, the hollow proved itself not to be so different from the others before. It just shrieked and lunged at me.

I decided to make a gamble, activating my Hiero for extra protection, I too, ran at it. I haven't realized up until now, but I was quite fast. I dodged its first appendage that tried to right hook me, I caught the other one, and with a growl, I made a demonstration of my newly acquired strength and hefted it over my shoulder.

It crashed in the ground with another shriek. Not giving it the time to recover, I proceeded to madly trash its head with my foot. With a final shriek, It gave out.

I quickly began devouring it and watched with fascination as it disappeared in a black mist after I was done.

Cue, blue screens.

 *** Congratulations! Your level went up by one!***

 *** Congratulations! You created a skill!***

 *** Foot Trashing was created!***

'The hell?' I created a skill by repeatedly bashing a hollow's unprotected head with my foot? I didn't quite know how to feel.

Sighing (witch didn't came out like one), I opened my status screen.

[Name: Dick Daniel Junior (Dick)

Lvl 17 next (50%)

HP 1700/1700 reg/min (1%)

R 850/850 reg/min (1%)

Str: 35

Dex: 20

Sta: 25

Int: 10

Wis: 10

Stat points: 10]

Well, let's just dump all into strength again. It worked for me, why should I stop? Now, for that new skill.

 **Foot Trashing lvl 1 (0%):** Repeatedly and rapidly strike a foe with your foot. Max number of strike 5. Cost per use 50 R.

So 10 R per strike it was then. Let's see.

'Foot Trashing' I watched with fascination as my foot almost moved by itself and beat the air rapidly in front of me. All in seconds. All these skills and level ups were getting me excited. I felt like cackling, but I refrained myself.

Now, let's pick up where I left off before I was so rudely interrupted. Activating Detect Presence, I repeatedly used 'Foot Trashing' until I was short on reiatsu. Which was pretty fast, but that was expected. I turned off all active skills to rest a bit.

* **Skills** *

Detect Presence lvl 1 (80%)

Foot Trashing lvl 2 (20%) max strike 6. Cost 54 R

Weak Hiero lvl 4 (45%)

Well, I was doing pretty good but I knew it would become harder to level my skills up as I become stronger. After a while, around 45 minutes if my reiatsu was to be believed, another weak hollow showed up. Easy picking.

I also discovered that I had a tail. Kind of like Goku's. Which led me to believe that I have taken over that monkey hollow that 'killed' me.

I also gained another level which replenished my reiatsu pool. Which led to another grinding time and so on.

I continued on like that for at least three days. How I knew that? Well, the time sensitive quest provided me with notification each time a day has passed.

Now, I was on level 23. I did not advance much, but in my defense, it became harder to level up each time I did gain a level. And I could only meet so much hollows while staying stationary. I also gained a few information about my whereabouts. I was currently in a place called Menos Forest inside of Hueco Mundo. The information popped up when I tried to use garganta once.

[ Name: Dick Daniel Junior (Dick)

Lvl 23 next (10%)

HP 2300/2300 reg/min (1%)

Reiatsu 1150/1150 reg/min (1%)

Race/Class: Basic Average Hollow

Str: 75

Dex: 30

Sta: 45

Int: 10

Wis: 10

* **Skills** *

\- Storm Kicks lvl 2 (30%): A higher level of Foot Trashing which allows more the use of more blows and deals more damage. Max number of kicks: 12. Cost 49,5 R

\- Might Punch lvl 6 (95%): Channels Reiatsu into your hand to deal a devastating punch. Cost 30 R to 55 R

\- Higher Detection lvl 2 (3%): An evolved version of Detect Presence which allows the user to detect an enemy's approximative reiatsu level. Range: 120 meters

\- Hierro lvl 2 : Tougher skin. Cost per higher use: 50 ]

Feeling a bit satisfied with my current progress, I decided that it was high time for me to start hunting for hollows rather than wait for them to come to me.

And with Higher Detection, I should be able to avoid anyone stronger than me before they notice my presence.

My decision taken, I headed deeper into the forest. And I was quite rapidly frightened and harshly reminded that my current level meant nothing for the various predators that lurked the land. Why? Well, there was a reason why this was called the Menos Forest. There were tons of them lurking around. I suddenly felt like a fly going around spiders ready to suck me dry the moment I crossed their threads.

I lost my confidence boost and for a moment, I wondered if should go back to my little hunting heaven. I shook my head. Now was not the time to cower away in fear. Concentrating on my Higher Detection, if felt various beings around me that dwarfed my current ability.

I made extra care to keep my distance from them as far as possible and zoomed in to the one that I felt equaled my strength. The battle was quick. As always.

The fool was unaware of my presence until I Might Punched him into submission. I immediately realized the difference. I was already past halfway into leveling up again while it have taken around 8 to 9 hollows to reach level 23. Suppressing yet another desire to cackle madly (old habits die hard) I immediately took after another one in the vicinity. Made quick work of it then was on my way once again. In the end, I reached level 30 quite rapidly when something caught my attention.

 *** Congratulations! You reached level 30!***

 *** You are no longer considered Basic Average Hollow!***

 *** You are now an average Hollow!***

 *** You gain a perk point! Do you want to use it?***

Mirroring my first reaction when I discovered my first screen, I stared stupidly at the screen.

Recovering quickly as not to leave myself open for any fool to attack, I decided to see what perk there was to use first.

* **Perk Shop 1** *

\- Raging Hollow: You are a hollow which passed away with great rage and pain, as such, for each level you gain, you gain an additional 4 str and 4 sta.

\- Tough Hollow: You gain an inner understanding of Hierro. As such, for each level you gain, your Hierro gains another lvl 2 str.

\- Blaster Hollow: You became a proficient user of the Hollow's signature move: cero. Gain the skill cero 1 level in the skill per level up 20R.

\- Flash Hollow: Speed is your ace. Gain skill Sonido which grows according to your level 2 Dex.

At that exact moment, time stopped for me. It was love at first sight. How come did I miss this Perk Shop? Plus there were more than one shop. Damn, I'm so going to become awesome.

The next few minutes were wasted as I kept torturing myself over what perk to choose. They all seemed awesome. Raging Hollow was awesome because of the boost in strength and stamina per level. But there was Tough Hollow which, with time would make me practically invincible. Let's not forget about Blaster Hollow, just the name was enough to send chills down my spine. And there was Flash Hollow..

'SHIT!' I can't bring it to myself to choose just one of them. I felt like a child right now. Torn between 4 different cookies all with different yet wondrous tastes.

Sighing to myself, I closed the screen and turned towards the specific direction where I felt a Hollow sneaking up on me. My eyes narrowed, if they were smart enough to use stealth then they must be troublesome.

If I could still speak, I would have told it to come out, sadly, I did not possess such luxury. Activating higher Hierro, I prepared myself to rush it when it suddenly came out flying at me from the shadows. Acting fast, I lunged aside. I managed to dodge it and immediately retaliated with Storm Kicks, the hulking hollow took my hits like a boss but I knew I did some damages. Sparing its level a look, I was reassured to see that it was still in my league even if it was 4 levels higher than me. The dark figure took hold of my foot while I was in the middle of throwing another Storm Kicks and threw me away.

I crashed against the bark of a tree, a shriek coming out of my mouth. I hurried to my feets and prepared for an eventual attack but none came. For a moment I considered it gone when the hollow once again came flying at me. This time, I was prepared. I side stepped it once again and Might Punched it on the side chest with the full 70R and was satisfied to hear it let out its first howl of pain. Not relenting, my second hand was already in motion. And so I was able to score two hits when it suddenly sent me crashing away with a kick to the abdomen and rushed at me. I recovered quickly and took it head on. It was much more like a brawl rather than an actual fight. We were approximately equal in strength and the bastard had retained some kind of its intellect to keep me from outrightly gaining the advantage. But I was winning, it was subtle but, I kept scoring hits on its legs with my reiatsu enhanced tail. Who said it was an useless appendage?

Anyway, with a vicious kick to its leg in exchange of a Puch in my chest, I managed to make it lose its footing and proceeded to use one of my favorite finisher (my only finisher actually). Mainly bashing its head repeatedly with my foot.

With a final shriek, the beast-y monster went down and gave its strength to me. In the end, he just delivered two levels for me.

[ Name: Dick Daniel Junior

Lvl 32 next (90%)

Race/Class: Average Hollow

HP 3200/3200 reg/min (1%)

Reiatsu 1600/1600 reg/min (1%)

Str: 95

Dex: 50

Sta: 65

Int: 10

Wis: 10

Stat Points: 30

Perk Points: 1

* **Skills** *

\- Gamer's Mind lvl max (passive)

\- Gamer's Body lvl max (passive)

\- Might Punch lvl 9 (55%)

\- Storm Kicks lvl 4 (92%)

\- Higher Detection lvl 6 (3%)

\- Hierro lvl 3 (40%)

* **Perks** *

\- Hollow Absorption

 **A.N:** My first fic. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Leave a review to let me know what you think of it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

As the days passed by, it became plain obvious to me that I was struggling to keep on leveling up. Why? Well, I now attained a level at which, to keep on growing, I had to hunt down all the average Hollows in this damned forest or take a huge risk and go for the stronger hollows.

The reason is simple. There is no one around that possess the same power level as me. They all evolved into friggin **Menos**. And I don't see myself taking on one of those dark robed titans. I would not even know where to hit to kill them and suck away their power. And trust me, I have been sticking around long enough to observe the overgrown bastards. They only seemed to be bothered by their counterparts.

It was in these kind of situation that I regretted not having taken the perk 'blaster hollow' in favor of 'Raging Hollow'.

Don't get me wrong, the perk I have chosen helped me grow a great deal. Without it, I would have lost the majority of the fights I picked since hollows from lvl 45 and up all seemed to know detect presence. I couldn't sneak up on them anymore so it only left me with the choice to purely overpower them with my strength. (It felt good by the way).

But now I was stuck here mulling over that one perk I did not take. A quick glance to my stats just to pass time.

Name: Dick Daniel Junior

Lvl 56 next (27%)

Race/Class: Average Hollow

HP 5600/5600 reg/min (1%)

Reiatsu 2800/2800 reg/min (1%)

Str: 208

Dex: 150

Sta: 208

Int: 10

Wis: 10

Stat Points: 98

* Skills*

\- Gamer's Mind lvl max (passive)

\- Gamer's Body lvl max (passive)

\- Storm Kick lvl 18 (59%)

\- Raging Punch lvl 16 (34%)

\- Higher Detection lvl 23 (45%)

\- Hierro lvl 15 (62%)

* Perks*

\- Hollow Absorption

\- Raging Hollow

Around a week and a half has passed since I decided to leave that safe heaven of mine, yet it felt like an entire month. Mostly because I kept running around devouring hollows without really advancing. But also because I did not need to sleep at all, so the days were longer. I also stopped leveling up around 2 days ago.

And I hate it. I fucking do. Grinding my skills now would be a waste of time, and so would be hunting. All I could really do was wait here sagely and torture my poor poor brain in hope of solution. Until now, I haven't been that successful.

I watched dejectedly as yet another Menos came in the forest and fired off a red beam attack that I have guessed as Cero into another one in the distance.

I just observed it silently when a thought crossed my mind. Where did they learn Cero? Was it some instinctual skill that you learned when you became a Menos? Probably.

But then how come I could have learned it without evolving into one? Game mechanics? Again, Probably. Still, it was worth investigating. I spent a few minutes muling over it when it finally hit me.

My hand repeatedly slapped my mask as realization dawned on me. I was really a moron.

 _'Han_ ' did learn magic by dumping his stat points into intelligence and wisdom. And judging by the similarities with our abilities, I would not be surprised if I learned something like basic reiatsu manipulation by doing the same as him.

I was such an idiot. I immediately put 40 points into int, bringing it to 50.

Aaaand...

 *** Congratulations! You have gained the skill basic reiatsu manipulation!***

I actually laughed at myself. And quickly shut my mouth. I forgot I was not supposed to do that.

Checking out my new skill, it was exactly what I though it would be.

 **Basic Reiatsu Manipulation lvl 1 (0%)** ( **passive** ): Allows the user to manipulate Reiatsu and let it flow outside of their body. Augment the effectiveness of Reiatsu consuming skills by 0.5%

Oh, so that was it? I was wondering why I didn't get this skill when I kept throwing reiatsu left and right with my combative skills. Tch, game logics.

Anyway, on to practice. A quick use of Higher Detection confirmed that no threat was nearby. Nodding to myself, I immediately tried performing a cero. And since it was an instinctual move, I though I should be able to learn it rather easily.

 **WRONG!** As I gathered Reiatsu in the palm of my hand. It blew off. I stared rather disbelievingly at my hand. I actually failed it. I failed a freaking instinctual move. True, it was my first try, but that didn't mean my ego wasn't damaged. Thankfully Hierro was a passive/active skill, or else, it would have been quite painful to some parts of my dark furred hand.

Still, messing up once would not deter me from learning this skill. Nothing would. So I once again began gathering reiatsu in my hand. Taking extra care this time to not let it overflow and blow off like my first try. It was rather easy. I don't even know how I did to mess it up the first time. Oh well. Maybe it had something to do with my under-developed wisdom.

Anyway, there it was. A perfect red sphere of reiatsu. Ready to go off the moment my concentration would fail. Then I waited...

And nothing happened.

 _'So much for this shit_.'

Where's the notification? Wasn't it a success? Did I have to unleash it to create the skill? So many questions over the creation of a move supposed to be our self-taught by everyone else. I really needed to start putting points into my Wis stat. But I will do that later, for now, how do I unleash this?

Last time, it blew off because I was pumping too much reiatsu too fast into it that I could not maintain its form. So, creating some opening point it was then. Kind of like a one handed Kamehameha really.

Then I stopped. If I still had facial features, realization would be defined on them. Why? Haha, silly question. Kamehameha obviously!

Then **Boom!**

It blew off. Somehow, I was lacking concentration for the second time. But again, who would blame me? I just discovered that I could possibly recreate the Kamehameha. Pushing aside that tad bit of information for now, I quickly gathered Reiatsu in the palm of my hand once again and fired off my experimental Cero in the direction of a huge tree with new found excitement. Just to see how much damage it could do as these trees were rather sturdy. I was not disappointed. It made a decent dent in the bark. While not that big, it was still impressive considering my current mastery of the skill.

Aaaand

 *** Congratulations! You have learned the skill Cero!***

A howl could have been heard in a mile radius, and I would have been the source of it. Calming down, I eagerly checked out my new skill.

 **Cero lvl 1 (60%)** : This is the hollow's signature move, known by all but the weakest ones. Cost: 75R to 150R per use. Charging time 1 sec to 3

Not wasting my time, I quickly closed the screen and proceeded to grind it. I would surely attract attention but I knew that I could take care of the weaklings that would show up. And if I somehow managed to attract the attention of a Strong Hollow, then I would know it right away as the current range of my Higher Detection was 330 meters. Plenty of time to run away if one decided to suddenly show interest in the ruckus I was doing.

Thus, I began my training on Cero after putting all of my remaining points into Wis.

I varied the amount of reiatsu I poured into my Ceros and came to the conclusion that the more power I put into it, the more quickly it leveled up. Keeping in mind that I would rapidly run-out of reiatsu, I allowed myself to rest a bit after half exhausting my pool. Never letting it drop beyond that, in case some hollows managed to get the drop on me.

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that for each point I put into Int, I gained 4 in Reiatsu. Also, the regeneration rate of my reiatsu increased from 1% to 1,58%. I immediately knew it was because of the stat points in Wis.

Things were looking good for me as I kept grinding for most of the day. Around 20 hours to be exact. Some weaklings had the gal to show up and try to finish me. I made quick and efficient work of them. Then resumed my training. You think it was too much time wasted? Well, when you plan on one-shot-ing a Menos, you have to be prepared as much as you can. And I had nothing else to do.

Thus, after having leveled up Cero to 20, I patiently waited for my reiatsu pool to be refilled while checking my progress.

 ***Skills***

 **Basic Reiatsu Manipulation lvl 23 (12%)** **Cero lvl 20 (6%): Reiatsu cost: 75 to 1500. Charging time 1 sec to 3.**

Yep, I was so going to destroy those Menos. But before doing anything rash. I had to make sure that my maximum charged dual cero would kill them.

Yup, I planned on firing a double Cero. After dual firing Ceros left and right for around an hour or two, I didn't have a watch. Just a reiatsu recovery rate. I was finally satisfied. I waited a moment to refill my pool of reiatsu and began charging my attack. Having reached my max, I fired my twin Ceros off towards the ground and watched with no small amount of pride as it dug a huge (by my standards) and deep crater in the floor. I felt like jumping around and doing a weird dance. I tried to refrain myself from doing it but it was too much. I had to relieve stress somehow. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. What with Gamer's Mind and all that.

Then came the recovery time. It honestly annoyed me a great deal but it was necessary.

Thus, after sitting around doing nothing, it was finally time to hunt the big guys. Turning to the direction of the nearest one, thanks to Higher Detection. I took off in a sprint. Eager to finally kill those overgrown bastards that trolled over me up until now.

I stopped at the sight of a Menos that was probably newly created, if its current level was to be believed, and I began charging my dual cero. Taking extra care to remain out of its line of sight, then 5 seconds later, the Menos toppled over, courtesy of my currently, strongest move. With its mask shattered from the impact, I quickly rushed to it and grabbed a bite. I actually didn't know where to bite it, so I just settled for a part of its exposed neck and face.

And finally, after days of running around and grinding. I was able to level up again. It felt good. But something unexpected happened. As I began laughing madly, I realized one thing.

I recovered speech.

And it was strange because my voice didn't come out as how I remembered it. It was deep and somehow..mixed? Well, at least, now I can communicate. Even if there was no one to talk to. For now that is.

Though, none of that could beat the notification that filled my vision.

 *** Congratulations! You have reached level 60!***

 *** You are no longer considered Average Hollow but Higher Hollow!*** *** You gain one perk point!***

" You moron!" I insulted the game as I felt like crying. Mostly to test my voice." It doesn't make me happy at all!"

Seeing me act all childishly over a perk point would have been strange, but, when you pass the majority of your time mercilessly slaughtering your own kin, you get to have some screw lose in retaliation. And no amount of Gamer's Mind could help. Since it was due to a high influx of mixed feelings.

Anyway, I dumped all 40 stat points once again in int. And I would continue to put my points in that stat until I felt like I had enough reiatsu.

All in all, this is how my final Stats looked like.

Name: Dick Daniel Junior

Lvl 60 next (43%)

Race/Class: Higher Hollow

HP 6000/6000 (1%)

Reiatsu 3360/3360 (1,58%)

Str: 226

Dex: 150

Sta: 226

Int: 90

Wis: 68

Perk points: 1

After seeing my stats, I felt like a totally different person. And to be honest, I am. I lost my original body and I lost my innocence in trying to survive in this damned maze. And I was no longer the weakling that my 'cousins' used to bully. I was different.

I didn't know how to take this change at all. On one side, I felt happy for being free of my old monotone life, (even if this one was a bit on the hardcore side), but on the other, if felt sad that I have changed into a completely different person. All in all, I just felt confused. And tired.

And with no one to keep me up, I felt lonely. My thoughts threatened to go into darker parts but I suddenly felt some kind of relief. Gamer's Mind just kicked in.

I sighed and adopted a resolute attitude. For now, I would focus on getting stronger. Then I will seek companionship later. It's not like any of the habitants of the forest would prove to be talkative as of now. And thus, I would resume my daily routine of mass murder.

After choosing the perk **"Flash Hollow"**. I could have taken blaster hollow but seeing as I already acquired Cero, I kind of carved for Sonido.

Nodding at my somewhat sound judgement, I decided to give my new skill a look.

 **Sonido lvl 1** : Allows the user to cover distances near instantly by sending quick bursts of reiatsu in their feet and push it out. Max distance 10 meters. Cost: 10 R

Beware, forcing this skill beyond the reiatsu cost could have devastating consequences such as the loss of your lower half.

There it is, I am now overpowered for any weaker and average hollow in this forest. Simply because they would never be able to see me coming. I may even be able to pull out the famous and catchy 'You can't see me' on them. Not that they would get the reference.

" Well, let's give it a try." Talking to myself, I made use of Sonido, and for an inexplicable reason, I ended up face first into the bark of a small tree. Thankfully, my mask did not crack. And even though I practically 'failed' my first attempt in using the skill. I could not help but feel excited as an idea popped in my head. And it was a great idea, combining Sonido with Raging Punch and Hierro would give me another one hit kill move. Raging Punch may even get a new upgrade. And considering the fact that I will try to recreate the Kamehameha, success would grant me yet another overpowered move.

I was so awesome.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's take things slowly for now. I'm going to leave the Menos to themselves a bit. Mainly because, I could easily grind Sonido. And when I hit the wall when it becomes too time consuming to level it up, it will continue to grow along me as I go into another mass slaughter.

So, I decided to return into that safe haven of mine. There, it was unlikely for me to be interrupted by the other residents of the forest.

It took me less than an hour to return to my 'rebirth place'. I encountered a couple of hollows on the way but, as I said earlier, I was on a completely different level for them. Even if they miraculously got the idea to gang up on me.

Upon my arrival, I realized that my safe haven was not a safe heaven anymore. With Higher Detection, I could feel dozens of hollows lurking around the place. I felt like killing them to reclaim it but that would just be a waste of my time. So I headed back into the deeper parts of the forest. No point in mulling over it. And without stalling any further, I began practicing Sonido.

During the first few tries, I kept crashing around. Against trees, the ground, boulders. I didn't suffer any damage thanks to Hierro, my pride took it all all instead. It was rather annoying.

But with time, my proficiency in the skill improved. And thanks to Gamer's Mind, I didn't get dizzy even though I experienced tunnel vision the entire time. Even better, as the skill gained levels, the tunnel visions felt less rushed. I could see where I was going and once it hit level ten, I was able to change direction mid-move by activating another Sonido and so on. It felt good to be able to run around at such speed, the sonic boom was just another bonus that made me more badass.

Back on track, now that I didn't risk crashing around boulders and trees anymore, I could finally begin creating what I would call Mach Punch. Activating Higher Hierro first, then I let my reiatsu flow into my arm. Reinforcing it.

I took a deep breath and used Sonido. At level 12, it could nearly cover 120 meters in an instant. Obviously, I didn't use the full extent of that move as there weren't enough place to keep on running in a straight line. My target fixated, I rammed my fist against a medium sized boulder while rolling along my momentum. And to my utter amazement, I went through the boulder. I stumbled on my feet after over extending my hand and crashed away.

And I laughed. I openly laughed. It was genuine laughter, I haven't gone insane yet. And probably never will. I didn't make any move to get up and simply laid on my back for some time. Allowing myself to rest a bit. Even though I did not need it. It was quite refreshing when I managed to ignore the various howls of the other occupants of the forest.

It didn't last long. A hollow had to ruin it, an idiot hollow that though that I was defenseless. He came at me running and howling. Like a barbarian. No, barbarians were dumb, this one was mindless.

" Dumbass." I muttered as I made a show to slowly stand up to my full height. I had the time, it was slow. It didn't deter the mindless beast though.

Mach Punch killed it on the spot. My fist shattered the mask and continued onwards. I watched as the beheaded corpse fell limp beside me. Getting a bite.

Then I was on the move once again. I would leave the recreation of Kamehameha for later. It was not urgent, and I was eager to test Mach Punch on something that would offer more resistance. Mainly, Menos.

And Indeed, Menos offered more resistance to Mach Punch. Because I had to hit their foot and not their head, and their Hierro was as hard as hell.

Oh well, I found a counter for that. I would ram my fist with all my might on the back of their foot while they were preparing to move, then follow up with a bombardment of cero when they hit the ground. Simple and efficient. Plus, it was pretty cheap on the reiatsu cost as I didn't have to use double Cero. With this combo, I could probably take on two Menos at once. After all, they couldn't see nor follow my moves. But I would have to scramble around to eat them before they dissolved. And I did not want to rush it, I took my time hunting them one by one.

And so, I began a second mass massacre in this cruel place where only the strong survive.

As Sonido kept on leveling up, my Mach Punch combo gained in strength. Raging Punch gained in experience. And so was Hierro. I did not need to stop for grinding anymore. Hunting Menos was making me more stronger. And since up till now, the highest leveled Menos I met was at level 89, I made a wild guess and deduced that the level required to keep on evolving was 100. No need to stress, I would reach that quickly. With how fast I was devouring these Hollows. I would assume that I would reach it in around 5 to 7 days. There were bound to be Menos near that level.

Three weeks later, and I was stuck on level 96. I would not say stuck as it took me around 4 days to reach that level but it was getting ridiculously slow. The highest leveled Menos I encountered was 92. And that was a rare event. The rest were around level 65 to 89. And they did little to help me grow. I kept hunting them but I was not as motivated as I was before. And what was worse, I had a chance encounter with a new born adjuchas. No, I saw a Menos evolve into an adjuchas. Aaaand

There were no comparison. It was on a whole other level. I didn't know how but it suddenly went from level 90 to 120 in an instant. I fled the scene immediately in fear that it would notice me. Thankfully, it didn't, otherwise, I wouldn't be breathing right now. Come to think of it, was I breathing? No matter, I only had around less than a month to reach the level of an adjuchas or I would fail the Evolution Quest. Yet, I was stuck on level 96. I only had one solution, create and train as much fighting skills and hope I could take on a newborn adjuchas with them, or die trying. With such a perfect plan, nothing will go wrong. Yes, nothing. I just have keep on believing and stay positive.

Name: Dick Daniel Junior

Lvl 96 next (11%)

Race/Class: Higher Hollow

HP: 9600/9600 (1%)

Reiatsu: 6360/6360 (2%)

Str: 368

Dex: 222

Sta: 368

Int: 400

Wis: 110

Stat Points: 8

 ***Skills***

\- Gamer's Mind lvl Max (passive)

\- Gamer's Body lvl Max (passive)

\- Higher Detection lvl 36 (21%)

\- Raging Punch lvl 31 (67%)

\- Storm Kicks lvl 19 (80%)

\- Hierro lvl 24 (53%)

\- Sonido lvl 61 (32%)

\- Cero lvl 33 (62%)

 ***Perks***

\- Hollow Absorption

\- Raging Hollow

\- Flash Hollow

 **A.N:** I actually am surprised by this fic's positive response. I have to thank you readers. Over 50 follows and 30 favs. Again, thanks.

To answer some reviews:

r3d3v3: I'll see what I can do. No promises though.

Bclassdemon: My thoughts actually.

Akasuna123: He won't stick long with it.

Cole Shiryu: I didn't really want to make another version of Stark. That's why I didn't choose Blaster.

Gingy 71: Thanks and it's because it's easier.

Jreptile101: And I hope you will.

Please, note that this is my first fic. Mistakes are bound to happen.

Review!


	3. Chapter 3

*** Warning! A day has passed!***

 *** You only have 3 days left to clear the quest: Evolve 1***

The deadline was nearing, it couldn't have been any clearer. But I didn't stay idle during these past 58 day. I made good use of my time. As I was now, I was sure that I could go toe to toe with an adjuchas. Well, not all adjuchas but the lower ones. I was pretty confident. And to finish this quest, all I had to do left was find a newborn. Such an opportunistic guy I was.

Name: Dick Daniel Junior

Lvl 97 (3%)

Race/Class: Average Hollow

HP 9700 (1%)

Reiatsu 6460/6460 (2%)

Str: 372

Dex: 224

Sta: 372

Int: 400

Wis: 110

SP: 18

 ***Skills***

Gamer's Mind max (passive)

Gamer's Body max (passive)

Hierro lvl 46 (59%)

Sonido lvl 63 (07%)

Higher Detection lvl 46 (32%)

Intermediate Reiatsu Manipulation lvl 44 (14%)

Storm Kicks lvl 32 (63%)

Raging Punch lvl 43 (70%)

Cero lvl 41 (12%)

 **Kamehameha lvl 17 (30%)** : An unoriginal copy of a basic blaster skill. Channels Reiatsu into high concentration in the palm of your hands and unleash it in one go to deal high damages. Cost: 100R~3400R. Charging time: 1 to 5s

 ***Perks***

Hollow Absorption

Flash Hollow

Raging Hollow

I realized that it would be more efficient to train the skills I already have rather than waste my time creating new ones and then grind them afterwards. So most of my days, I kept training as much as I could. The rest of the time, I spent it tailing and observing the various Menos around me. Trying to figure out the key to their sudden boost in power after evolution.

After thinking it deep an through, I finally got an idea. My theory is the next. As Menos, they are just mindless beast. Overruled by their instincts. The fact that they didn't seem to have Detect presence was proof enough of that. They are strong, but they don't know how to use their strength. That is why they could afford to fire Ceros left and right without care. Because they have the Reiatsu to spare. But when they hit the cap and transformed into adjuchas, they gain the ability to think clear, without loosing their already high battle instinct from the various souls they consumed. Plus, they always shrink in size after transforming. Making their reiatsu more potent and dense. Their attack become stronger in consequence.

It was no wonder that they jumped from level 90 to 120 in an instant.

Anyway, I decided to tail any high leveled Menos and wait for the right time for them to evolve. And jump in just after they finished transforming. Cowardly? Maybe. But my goal was not to act like some noble samurai, it was to survive. Plus I was already murdering my kind , acting as a coward was not that bad in comparison. Not even close.

Sadly, until now, I was not that lucky in this little game of mine. None of the ones I kept following seemed ready to undergo an evolution. It made me frustrated. I even began considering feeding them when thankfully, things finally appeared to go my way.

After my long time of observation, I learned to memorize the feel of an adjuchas' reiatsu. Basically how it felt more potent and obviously bigger than the rest. It was simple, and it made avoiding them all the more easier.

And thanks to that, I was currently able to locate an unusually weak adjuchas. Maybe it was a stroke of luck or an incredibly rare encounter, I don't know. But I was not going to miss such a prey. It was as if the game was giving me a hand. And who am I to refuse?

I quickly abandoned my current task of tailing the high level Menos and took off after my new prey.

I used Sonido to arrive at destination quickly and stared at a strange centaur-like adjuchas. What made it strange was that it had long silky green hair. Almost like a woman's. Checking its level as it turned to me. I smiled under my mask. Lvl 110 was actually in my league. I was 97 but my skills would make up for it. I didn't waste my time staring at it.

" Just give up adjuchas. I promise it will be a swift death if you do." Just wanted to act like one of those famous movies' MC.

I didn't expect it to understand me. Even if it somehow could talk, there was a high chance that we wouldn't understand each other.

Naturally, said adjuchas blasted a cero in my direction. I quickly made use of Sonido and dodged the bast. I appeared beside it thanks to a second use of the skill with my fist already extended in a punch. Time stopped to a crawl and everything turned into slow motion as my attack soared towards the evolved hollow's mask and got swatted away. The adjuchas retaliated rapidly and rammed its knee in my gut. I got the wind knocked out of my lungs, and if it was possible, spit would flow out of my mouth. It didn't stop there though. It seized my neck and slammed me down on my back then held me there, creating a mini-crater on the ground. Even with higher use of Hierro, its grip still hurt like hell. I seized its hand and tried to pry it off my neck and I sent it flying away with a quick but concentrated blast from my tail. I was not even surprised when it emerged from the smoke it crashed away, unharmed. I used Sonido once again and came at it from behind and when it sent its 'feet?' at me, I disappear once again, leaving an afterimage in my wake. Only to receive a right hook on my face as I reappeared beside it. I crashed away, but I was back on my feet in an instant. Thankfully, my mask was tough as it did not crack, but I did not plan on testing how many hits it could take until it crumbled.

Not relenting, even though my opponent seemed to toy with me. I formed a quick cero on my fingertips and followed behind the blast. Then stopped right before the hollow only to use Sonido rapidly to take a step back then resuming my attack. The adjuchas must not have expected it as it couldn't dodge when I Mach Punched it square in its 'face'. Rolling along with the momentum, I followed with storm Kicks. Connecting a high number of blows. A double cero was already forming on my hands when it disappeared from my sight.

" Fu-" I felt something snap in my chest. It reappeared beside me to drive an elbow to my ribs. The adjuchas took hold of my arms and proceeded to drive countless kicks in my gut thanks to its numerous feets. In an act of desperation, I unloaded an instant blast from my mouth on it. The beating stopped, but the hold remained. I continued blasting it with weak but fast reiatsu attack but to no avail.

In the end, it must have got annoyed as it threw me away like a ragdoll. This time around, I was not so fast to get on my feet. But I held strong.

We took time to examine each other and I may have been mistaken but I saw what looked like curiosity in its yellow eyes as our line of sight met. I didn't linger on it a second longer. With a roar, I rushed it, the sonic boom of Sonido reverberating behind me. I circled it, leaving afterimages behind. Buying time for my strongest move and it didn't react as Reiatsu was rapidly gathering in my two hand. Cocky bastard didn't know what was coming for him. I reappeared on its left, leaving an after image behind and moved above it to fire my fully charged Kamehameha with a roar.

That's when I grew desperate. I actually stopped to make a double check. The hollow held its hand at its side and, my mouth hung agape as it was eating my attack away. I wondered how such a thing could be possible for such a low level Adjuchas. My eyes flickered to its level for a second and widened considerably in pure horror.

"...Shit"

Its level kept filtering between Lvl 217 and 218. That's it, I am royally fucked. It may have been short but I am happy to have met you gamer system. You too Gamer's Mind. I didn't forget about you Gamer's Body.

I was brought out of my senseless musings as the now identified super overpowered hollow regurgitated a gigantic pink cero in my direction.

An undignified and definitely not masculinity scream could be heard in the vicinity. It did not came out of my mouth, my voice was rough. Not girly. I will forever deny that. In a Last and desperate effort to survive, I fired off a weak blast while using Sonido in quick bursts to get away. All the while empowering my Hierro with all I had left.

If I didn't do that, I would have been incinerated by the attack. That didn't mean that I escaped unharmed, far from it. My hands were quite badly burnt, my back hurt from crashing away and I couldn't feel my legs anymore. A quick look proved that they were still there. Just as messed up as my arms but still there. Thankfully, my tail was unharmed, it was shielded by my body from the explosion. And so was my mask, I made extra sure to protect it with my arms.

As I breathed hoarsely, I let my eyes wander aimlessly around. Then something heavy pushed against my chest and stopped me from trying to get up. Not that I could even if I tried. I looked up and saw the centaur-like hollow looking down at me, and this time, I could clearly see that it was curious. But I could care less about it.

What puzzled me was why it did not finish me on the spot. Must be a sadist or it liked to play with its food. Giving it a try, I voiced my thoughts, without really waiting for an answer. After a few seconds of staring at each other, I was surprised when the hollow answered me in a definitely feminine voice.

"...I am curious." 'She?' began. Then she paused a second as if to measure her next words.

" You are not an adjuchas."

I was actually stunned into silence. My aching body temporary forgotten. The hollow talked back. It was speaking to me, in a language I could understand. What's more, It understood me too. I stared for a few seconds longer at it before I let out a humorless throaty laugh. It didn't sound that nice. But I needed it. Anyway, I regained my composure moments later and began talking once again before she decided to kill me out of annoyance.

" What makes you say that?"

" Your reiatsu. It doesn't feel the same. Not as potent as the ones I have fought. Yet, you are strong."

I just stared at her. I didn't have any explanation to give. And if her curiosity was what was keeping her from finishing me, then I would better try to be as mysterious as possible. After a moment of staring contest, she moved her foot away.

" You are also the most talkative hollow I've met so far."

And once again, she floored me by extending her hand. I was baffled, a hollow which had fucking manners? Not in my wildest dreams. Sadly, I was not in the state where I could grasp the offered appendage. My hand refused to move even if I willed it to.

" I can't move."

" Sorry about that." And so, she opted to sit beside me. As I was torturing my brain in search of reasons for her behavior, an uncomfortable silence took place between us. Not that silent with all the noise around but you get what I mean to say.

Finally deciding to talk, I cleared my throat. I didn't have to, I just felt like doing it. A growl came out instead

" What's your name?" I quickly asked to cover it.

She looked at me. No stared would be more appropriate. And it made me feel uneasy. Mostly because I knew she could kill me in an instant. And when she finally decided to answer, I fought really hard not to release a sigh of relief.

" Nelliel Tu Odershvank. And You?"

" I am Di-" wait, I was not going to introduce myself as Dick. No matter how you look at it, that name is just 'wrong'. Plus, she might kill me if she thinks I am mocking her. What to do? What to do? WATODO!!? Oh God, she's starting at me once again. I immediately said the first name that came to my mind. " I am D. Luffy! Monkey D. Luffy! Hehehe!" 'Shit' with my deep and mixed voice, I almost sound like a pervert. I actually did sound like a pervert. I wouldn't blame her for killing me.

Unaware of D. Luffy's inner turmoil, Nelliel just smiled behind her mask. Her eyes narrowed in consequences. Strangely, he seemed even more tense after that, his injuries still have to hurt.

" Well, nice to meet you Monkey."

'She believed it'. Thanks god I actually look like a monkey. I tried hard not to sigh once again. I feared it would sound out like a growl once more. 'Just focus on talking'.

" Me too Nelliel. Me too."

 _ **A few minutes later**_

" So, you're saying that you're going to help me evolve?"

" Yes."

" Care to give me your reasoning once again?"

" Because you're weak."

That stings Nelliel. My pride is being pummeled to oblivion the longer I stay with you.

" Any adjuchas will do the trick. So let's just focus on finding one. It shouldn't be difficult."

True to her words, we located an adjuchas about an two hour later . Luck seemed to be on my side today. Back on the matter at hand. The adjuchas looked like a bleached lion with an overly big tail. Made me think about the DDDA Chimera minus the goat for a second. I squashed the thought quickly and prepared a double cero in my hands.

" So, how are we doing this?"

The reiatsu fluctuation alerted the hollow of our presence as it turned into our direction and tensed. At level 126, it would prove to be my greatest challenge so far. Not counting the overpowered hollow beside me of course. Said hollow seemed just content with taking the sidelines and watching me fight to the death. Not even bothering to answer me. Not that I could complain. I was already Lucky for having survived her. I wouldn't push my luck any further.

Preparing myself as the lion-like hollow began sprinting to me. I quickly activated Sonido, and with quick steps, I managed to fool it with afterimages. Appearing behind it as it pounced into my illusionary clone. I unloaded my concentrated Ceros into its unprotected back. It shrieked and retaliated violently with its tail. Hitting me on my left shoulder and sending me reeling away as I did not expect it to withstand one of my strongest moves like that.

Adjuchas were truly strong.

One hit was enough to take a big chunk of my HP. Nelliel must have really held back a great deal when we fought. Well, it just meant that I was weak. I hastily deflected its swipe and used Sonido to confuse it while taking my distances. All the while firing quick blasts of concentrated reiatsu. I was already on the move when it emerged from the attacks and welcomed it with Mach Punch. I caught it off guard and managed to send it flying away. I roared a cero from my mouth and followed with another Mach Punch and so on. I knew I was depleting my reserves far faster than I would have liked but I didn't really have the choice. Not if I wanted to win.

My opponent countered one of my Ceros and managed to overpower it. But I was not staying idle. I dodged and took off to it once again. We began trading blows back and forth. There wasn't that much difference between us. It had the strength and endurance and I had the dex and speed. As such , I kept scoring hits. Focusing on its chest to have a chance to end the fight quickly. Still, its Hierro was as tough as hell. Even reinforcing my punches and kicks did little to help.

I tried changing tactics and fired a barrage of fast blasts with my hands, blinding the hollow long enough for me to take my distances while keeping up the small barrage. Having put enough ground between us. I concentrated a cero in my left hand while keeping it busy with blast from my right hand and tail. And with a final blast, I soared to it and rammed my concentrated beam to its torso. I blew it away and allowed myself to take some time to catch my breath.

Before quickly using Sonido to dodge a sudden cero from my foe. I was not fast enough though as I still suffered some damages around my right shoulder. Then I had to duck hurriedly to keep myself from being beheaded by the now berserk adjuchas. Makes me wonder how it managed to keep up with all this moving and not aggravate its injuries.

Anyway, I was now running low on reiatsu. I had to end this fight with a decisive blow. Thus, I had to wait for the right moment to counterattack. Which proved to be difficult as the rage and possible desperation made my foe almost twice as dangerous as before. It attacked me relentlessly and with my depleting reserves, I could not afford to waste any more Reiatsu.

Finally, after almost succeeding in killing me with a swipe from its tail, I managed to take my distances once again, just enough for me to predict its obvious pursuit and ensuring a sure hit. I fired a concentrated beam at its chest and watched with satisfaction as it stumbled back a little even after blocking the hit. I did not let it recover and followed up with Mach Punch powered with most of my reserves while creating a cero in front of my fist.

The adjuchas breathed its last as my fist went through its chest. Followed by a small explosion. Its right hand/paw still extended into a fist. I didn't waste my time and sank my teeth into its neck. Fearing that it was still alive. Biting off a huge chunk which I swallowed quickly, then took another mouthful of the dying hollow.

Finally, it was over. And as the hollow vanished into black smoke, I became frustrated after some time.

Nothing happened.

I did not transform. I did not receive any level up notification. Nothing. I just stared into my hands and was about to curse loudly when a sudden explosion of Reiatsu rocked the area where I stood and began swirling around me. I screamed in pain as I felt as if I was about to explode. Then fell on my knees, never stopping my screams. It continued for a few seconds that felt longer than they were until

It all finally stopped. I panted heavily on the ground.

" I did... it?" The first thing I remarked was my voice. It was different. Not as mixed as before. It sounded almost more..normal.

" It seems like you did." I turned to my left. Now noticing the destroyed plane around me as my eyes peered into those of Nelliel. " Though, it was more violent than I anticipated."

Indeed, it was. But now, I felt more powerful. A lot more powerful. Like I could take on Nelliel. Those thoughts perished as fast as they came to my mind. I did not doubt that she could still throw me around if she ever felt like it. And I would provide little to no resistance to her.

 *** Congratulations! You evolved into an Adjuchas! ***

 *** You gain a perk point! ***

 *** Congratulations! You reached lvl 120!***

 *** You gain a perk point! ***

 *** Quest Completed! You gain 100 AP 2PP***

Status:

Name: Dick Daniel Junior (Alias Monkey D Luffy)

Lvl 121 (84%)

Race/Class: Higher Hollow / Adjuchas

HP: 20400/20400 reg/min (2%)

Reiatsu: 11800/11800 (2%)

Str: 468

Dex: 272

Sta: 468

Int: 400

Wis: 110

SP: 358

PP: 4

* **Skills** *

Gamer's Mind max (passive)

Gamer's Body max (passive)

Hierro lvl 46 (71%)

Sonido lvl 80 (99%)

Higher Detection lvl 46 (45%)

Intermediate Reiatsu Manipulation lvl 44 (51%)

Storm Kicks lvl 32 (66%)

Raging Punch lvl 43 (91%)

Cero lvl 41 (30%)

Kamehameha lvl 17 (32%)

* **Perks** *

Hollow Absorption

Flash Hollow

Raging Hollow

" Finally!!!" I was instantly on my feets. I was feeling ecstatic, felt like I needed to hug someone. Anyone in the vicinity. I was about to take Nelliel in my arms, and missed her by a great margin. I crashed away, she obviously dodged me.

" What are you doing?" She asked, her arms crossed above her chest. Was it me or did she appear bigger?

" Sharing happiness." I did not expect her to understand.

" What do you mean?" She really didn't. She tilted her head aside, almost like a curious child. I would have found it cute if not for the mask hiding her face.

I sighed and shook my head afterwards. Then I began my own check out. I must have lost some height. Along with some muscle mass.

" It doesn't matter. How do I look?"

She stared at me a second before answering, probably wondering about my immediate dismissal of her question. " You changed."

'way to state the obvious.' Sometimes, I could not bring it to myself to decide whether or not she was messing with me or if she was just stupid. Probably the first.

I cleared my throat. Predictably, a growl was the result. Stupid vocal chords. Which was misinterpreted by the superior Adjuchas.

" I was joking. Anyway, you shrank in size. But nothing really changed beside that. Except for your tail and mask."

I blinked, and brought my tail up to eye level. Like the rest of my body, it shrank in size, but it was longer than before. And it gained a bony pointy tip colored in dark blue. As for my mask, well, I couldn't really find a way to observe it. So I just left it.

I flexed my hands, giving a few swings for try. I already said it before, but I will say it again, I felt strong.

" How does it feel?" Nelliel asked as she watched me doing stretches and testing out my new body.

" Good. Really good. It's like everything about me have been enhanced." Yup, everything. Even my eyesight. I grinned under my mask.

" I see. So what are you going to do now?" She asked, somewhat, hesitantly. " Are you going to leave the forest?"

I shrugged. Honestly, until now, I didn't even know that there was something beyond this dark forest. It picked my curiosity. What would it be like outside of this forest? Was it sunny there? Were there more hollows like Nelliel out there?

I could ask her. But I also wanted to find out and see with my own eyes.

" Say Nelliel, are you from the outside ?"

" In a sense, yes. Why?"

" How is it there?"

She seemed to ponder my question a second before just shaking her head.

" It's better if you just see it yourself. Plus you have to leave this forest sooner or later. It's better doing it now."

And so, a new quest decided to present itself before me. I chuckled.

I still have a long way to go.

 **A.N** :

The favs and follows numbers just doubled. **Hahaha!** Makes my joy.

Sadly, I won't probably have the time to write since my studies are taking a great part of my time. So don't expect any regular updates. Also, the MC won't stick with any of the name mentioned above. So, no need to worry about that.

 **Noivad Izanagi** : Thanks for the advices.

 **Remzal** : There isn't.

 **RoyalTwinFangs** : A special thanks to you for that wonderful suggestion.

 **Guests** : He doesn't need to have a permanent one. Acidic Touch? Hmm, not really a big fan of it, so I probably won't. I may give it to someone else.

Something worth mentioning: English is not my first/main language. And it's not second either.

Anyway, don't forget to review! See you next update!


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N** : Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I have last updated. And I will not bother you with some lame excuses. Truthfully, I was just lazy and didn't feel like writing. Though I did warn you that I would not be that active. Right?

 **Chapter 4:**

" Just like an old man, I play my lonely song~

Just like an old man, I play to get along~

I got my own style~ You got your own style~

I got my own style~ You got your own sty-"

" Monkey, What are you doing?" Inquired Nelliel as we traversed the seemingly infinite Menos Forest in the direction of the exit. Or in my case, in search of the exit.

"I'm singing~" I answered her in a happy tone. Well, as jovially as my voice could get. I still could not get over it.

" What is singing?"

I slammed to an abrupt halt and gave her a look. Rather pointless when you wore a mask, but well, I had to express my incredulity in a way or another. " Seriously?"

She just stared at me for a second before smiling. A few days ago, I would have been an understatement to say that I was intimidated by her. But lately, I realized that she was quite the pacific person. It still didn't have a clue about how she could turn out like this in such place. But I didn't pry.

" You're joking right?" I stated more than asked. I was proven right when she shrugged at me and her smile widened even more. The narrowing of her eyes was my clue.

" Maybe. Anyway, what got you in such a chipper mood?" She asked me in a light tone as she resumed her running in less hurry. I quickly caught up to her.

" I am kind of excited. I'm eager to see how it is outside." I answered, a smile under my mask. A change in scenery was very welcome, this dark and somewhat greyed forest was getting old. Too old.

" It's not that different outside." She informed, obviously not as excited as me if her tone was to be believed.

" As long as its not as dark and gloomy as here. It'll be just fine with me."

We went silent after that, just content with running. Me, thinking about my current predicament and Nelliel... minding her own things. Thirty minutes later, I got bored. Faster than I would have liked. Running in silence was not entertaining at all.

" Why don't we pick up the pace?" I suggested. She didn't seem surprised. Must have thought about it too.

" If you're sure you can keep up."

Oh~ was that a challenge? " You don't know how much you underestimate me." As soon as those words left my mouth, she disappeared with the trademark sound of Sonido. I followed suit.

I was surprised for a second that she could use the skill as I haven't seen her make use of it until now. But hey, it was another basic move. I don't even know why I was surprised. I just smiled. Recalling what happened a little while ago while catching up to her.

 _ **Flashback**_ *

 *** Companionship? ***

You have met Nelliel. A pleasant Hollow to be around. Gain her trust to become her ally. *

 *** Success***

Gain Nelliel as an ally.

Get to Hueco Mundo's desert faster.

 *** Failure***

Heh, so quests like this exist? Interesting. But not really unexpected. Let's see, do I really want to stay with Nelliel? Knowing she can kill me any moment she wants to?

Well, the game recognized her as a possible ally. After thinking about it a few moments, I shrugged. I made my mind. There's really no reason to refuse other than the obvious one. I'll stay with her. Not wasting a moment, I quickly made my proposal.

" Hey Nelliel, do you want to go outside with me?"

She gave me another one of her stares. It was really unsettling and somewhat nerve-racking. You wouldn't know how it felt until you were subjected to the same treatment.

After what felt like hours to me, but were just mere seconds, the female Adjuchas nodded.

" Why not." She shrugged " I actually came back here to find some company. I was getting rather lonely." She admitted freely. I felt relief wash through me. No matter what, you cannot judge me until you have received the Nelliel Stare. The relief rapidly subsided.

" How come? Shouldn't Adjuchas out there be more apt than us here?"

" They are... I don't know. I guess I just wanted to come back here." She offered. And theories worked inside my head. Each one as foolish as the last. I shook my head to my thoughts of such paranoid ideas.

" So, how do we get out?"

" Follow me."

 *** Flashback end***

I caught up to Nelliel quickly. my smile still on. With my current reserves, there was no need for me to stop. I was sure I could keep up with her as long as necessary. I saw a group of Menos battling in the distance and felt the irrepressible need to show off.

I shot up with Sonido and kicked the fist one in the side of his head. Instant kill. And using it as a stepping stone, I appeared in front of the next one. Ramming my fist in its mask with Raging Punch and shattering it in second. Turning to the last one, a pink light went beside me and the upper half of the last Menos was destroyed. A shudder went down my spine.

' Truly overpowered' I though irritatedly a my eyes went to my... companion? Oh well, I was going to catch up to her one day.

I nodded to myself and grabbed a bite before the Menos disintegrated completely.

" Jeez Nelliel, you're strong." I commented offhandedly.

She shrugged and worked on the other one. " What can I say, you still have a long long way to go."

My eye twitched. Only the truth hurts is how the saying goes.

I sighed. " Let's take a quick break. There's stuff I feel like I need to do."

" Like what?"

" It's about...an ability of mine. Don't worry. It'll be over quickly."

There was something I wanted to do for a while now. I brought up the newly unlocked perk shop 2 with a grin.

 ***Perk shop 2***

\- **Fire Hollow** : BURN FIRE! BURN! yes, with this perk, you will gain power over the fire element. You gain the skill 'Fire manipulation' 2R/lvl

\- **Water Hollow** : Water! Where? Where? You will gain control over the most absent element in Hueco Mundo. Gain the skill 'Water Manipulation' 2R/lvl

\- **Wind Hollow** : Freedom! Wind symbolizes you liberty. Gain 'Wind Manipulation' 2R/lvl

\- **Earth Hollow** : No words are needed. By now you should have figured out that Earth is the Key. The skill 'Earth Manipulation' is gained 2R/lvl

I figuratively dropped a bead of sweat when I read the last perk's description. Trying to make the earth appealing but alas, I already figured out that I won't take that one. And so was water. So it only left Fire and Wind.

But this is not a decisions to be taken lightly. I need to think this through. Oh, let's think about it on the way. At least, I will have something to keep me from getting bored.

After a long long run, we finally made it to what seemed like a huge and dark pathway, surrounded by trees and rocks alike. It looked scary, almost like a gigantic smile with shark-like white teeths made of rocks and stones. I shivered, I didn't know why, but this place was really unsettling me.

" You're sure it's the way out?" I asked my female companion as I checked for any strong signature around. Strangely enough, I couldn't feel that far. I frowned. The only signatures I could make out was mine and Nelliel's. That was certainly strange.

" This place is usually swarmed. As as far as I know this is the only way out. But it seems like someone else took them out before us." She answered. "Stay alert."

I nodded to her." You planned on slaughtering them?"

" Well, not necessarily. If they were too weak, it would just have been a waste of energy. Anyway, without them here, we've got the place all to ourselves."

" So we're gonna sit and wait here for the others to show up?" She nodded to me " Adjuchas are usually eager to leave this place after evolution. Most of them aren't that strong but for you, they will be useful to grow." Nelliel explained calmly and took place in the shade of the cave. " It would be wise to hide or lower your signature for the time being."

As I watched her, I thanked my lucky star once again that she was on my side.

But how am I going to hide my signature? How the hell was I supposed to do that? Limit the flow? Compress my reiatsu?

Ignoring my troubles, Nelliel seemed content with just watching on the sidelines and resting against a tree.

With a sigh, I dropped the idea of compression. It would be better to grind Fire Manipulation. Yes, I took fire. Why? Because I had more ideas on how to handle it than I did with wind. Plus, I liked it better. And I did not pick it to show off. No. Absolutely not. End of the discussion...

Anyway, I'm getting distracted. Where have I left off? Oh, yeah, I was planning on practicing with my new skill. Smirking to myself and using the small part of knowledge that has been forced into my brain, I willed a small ball of fire to spring into life over my hand. Illuminating my surroundings slightly and surely catching Nelliel's attention. But I paid her no mind. My focus was entirely on the small fire on top of my palm. It was easy enough to bring up the fire but keeping it up was quite demanding. Actually, it could vanish any moment now. Oh, it vanished.

Manipulating fire was not as draining as I thought it would be. It's just that it felt like I had to constantly concentrate on it. And with higher detection off. My mind was just not fully on the matter at hand.

So I had to stop my practice and allowed myself to take a small break for the time being. It was only now that I reported my attention to Nelliel shooting me a curious look. Her eyes were my only indication. Proof that I could read people's emotions quite handily.

" What was that?" She voiced as she approached me.

" Another ability of mine." I answered cheekily " Awesome right?"

Ugh, another stare.

A very long stare.

" Someday, you'll have to tell me more about yourself."

Wait, was she threatening me?...Nah, it wasn't like her to do that. It was just a simple statement. Though, it brought to mind another question. do I have a party system? I shrugged. Only one way to find out.

" Invite Nelliel to party."

A blaring red screen immediately filled my vision. I even took a step back because of how sudden it was.

 _ *** Do you really want to add Nelliel Tu Odershvank into party?***_

 _ *** Yes/No***_

 _ *** Note: you can only have 2 party members at once***_

I blinked. What's the big deal about this? It's not like I'm running straight to my death. Right?

Was I? Come to think of it, why would I want to add her to my party? Well, sure, she helped me grow but other than ensuring our mutual (my) survival, companionship and possible friendship, there really wasn't any reason to-

" Are you OK?" She inquired, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I briefly shook my head to focus on her.

" Nelliel, do you trust me?" I asked her honestly, it was also one of the various sentences that I longed to say for a long time. That almost every single male did.

She didn't even pause to think about it nor did she hesitate to answer " No." She paused to let the information sink in." There isn't a single Hollow in here that is willing to trust another one. And I am no different than them."

There goes my esteem. Harsh words, truly. But if I wanted to keep going, I would need her. I would not survive another clash with a high class Adjuchas without her.

" Well, what would you do if I told you that you were going to have to trust me on this one?"

She eyed me quizzically, no doubt, she was thinking my words through. At least, she was taking me seriously.

" As long as it's not about turning my back to you. I don't think there is much to fear." She finally said after a moment of stare. Then she took a huge step back.

My cue to begin my shit. " Invite Nelliel Tu Odershvank to party."

 _ *** Invitation Sent!***_

The atmosphere immediately became cold. " What is this Monkey?" Her stern voice sent chills down my spine. I looked at her and met a glare to my surprise. I was not expecting such a sudden mood change. I have not been subjected to many killing intent in my life, none that I was aware of but if I had to guess, then what I was currently experiencing was an example of one. Still, I held my ground.

" This is my special power." I managed to keep myself from stuttering. " And I can share it. If you don't want it, you can...refuse." Strangely, I was running rapidly out of breath and the gravity felt like it increased exponentially. Was I suffocating perhaps?

She remained silent for a few seconds. Not once relenting the pressure nor her glare.

" What do you get out of sharing this?"

" Companionship!" I shouted without even thinking about it. Her eyes narrowed more. And the pressure followed suit. I guess my answer did not bring enough satisfaction.

" Be serious."

" Look, I'm trying to share my powers with you. If you don't want them, then so be it. I am just showing you what makes me so different than other hollows!" I blurted out rapidly in the same time as my knees began to shake. Unable to support me any longer.

Nelliel accepted your invitation to form a party!*

Congratulations! Nelliel is now a member of your party!*

Quest Cleared!*

" Huh?" Was my intelligent reply as I sucked in a deep breath. Did she just accept like that? I was kind of expecting her to kill me. I stood there, stunned for some time.

" So, what does this power of yours do?" She asked as she moved her hand around. As if she didn't threaten me a moment ago. Providing the necessary push to reboot my brain. Or it was gamer's mind. I don't know.

" I mean, other than showing my general attributes numerically?"

I blinked "...That was fast." I went along. Ignoring the fact that she could miraculously read.

She shrugged and smiled. At least, this time around, I was positive that she was." I adapt easily."

I shook my head and chuckled dryly. Any normal person would have had a hard time moving on. But I had gamer's mind. " I guess you do. Go through tutorial?" Another awkward silence.

" How do I do that?"

" Good question. How about saying it? The system kind of answers to vocal commands."

" ..Is it safe?" There goes her stare once again. I could only nod in answer. " Ok, Tutorial?"

I watched as she seemingly froze a few seconds before slowly turning her head to me.

I gulped nervously. " Did it work?"

" Nothing happened." She answered as if in shock.

I was sure that my left eyebrow was twitching madly under my mask. " DON'T BE SO OVERLY DRAMATIC!!"

She simply chuckled.

" Sorry, I couldn't refrain myself. It's the first time that I feel this good." The Adjuchas explained joyously. She smiled so brightly that her eyes closed. " I don't feel the haunting voices nor the hunger anymore!" She then chuckled again. Which was weird...and scary.

" O-kaayy... What do you mean by hunger and voices? Were you somehow possessed?" I ventured. It was her turn now to be surprised.

" What do you mean?

You talk as if you've never felt hungry."

" Nope." I answered after some reflection. Not once after I reawakened.

" And the voices in your head?"

" Never heard any voice in my head."

She looked at me with what I assumed to be doubt in her eyes. " You don't believe me?"

" I find it hard to."

" Well, it's not important. We should take care of those guys first." I decided to redirect the discussion to a 'more' pressing matter. Mainly, the hollows that tried to sneak up to us. And failing miserably. I mean, how are you going to ambush someone if you're busy intimidating each other.

Anyway, Nelliel nodded to me.

Then disappeared.

...I should have known that she was going to leave me again. The opportunistic hollows took that as a cue to begin their attacks. Dozens of them appeared from the trees and instantly rushed to me. I would have panicked if I have not already prepared an escape. With an invisible smirk on my face, I flooded my legs with reiatsu for a jump and was almost immediately over a gathered mass of hollows.

" Ha!" I blasted them with a hastily charged reiatsu beam which pushed me higher and destabilized them. Trying out my new skill, I used fire manipulation to hurl a small fireball at them. Just to see how much damage it would do.

I was...disappointed. Terribly so. It did not even reach them but vanished midway. Thankfully, it was enough to serve as a distraction. With another sonic boom, I appeared a distance away. They did not stand there as fillers would have thought and were trying actively to find me. I smirked and focused reiatsu in my hands. Forming small bolts and hurled them at the disoriented hollows in rapid succession. The forest was rocked with small explosion and howl of pain. While the latter was not that uncommon in here. It still brought me satisfaction. But now, a smokescreen clouded my vision and with my higher detection currently useless, I had to stop and take to the higher trees.

Some hollows took the opportunity to leave the smoke and I took the opportunity to get rid of them swiftly. That's when a familiar heavy pressure caught my attention. Turning to the fading smoke and regaining my position on top of the tree. Two hollows emerged. More precisely, two adjuchas. Oddly enough, they had the same appearance. All gorilla like. Just in different colors. I frowned. Why didn't they attack each other? I stood there for a few seconds to see what the would do when they zeroed on me. One began running at me and the other blasted a cero in my direction. I dodged the cero, met the darker one midway and punched it out of my way. Not wasting a second, I sonido'd to the blaster one and rammed a cero into its side-chest. Well, that's what I intended to do but it dodged and the one I punched away came at me from the back. Cursing, I spun around, caught its outstretched fist and threw it at the other one. I was not successful though as I was blasted away with a cero from the other one.

I regained my footing a small distance away and engaged the brawler one in a fight while the one I designed as a blaster picked up on every opening I had to send small blasts hurling my way. Unable to continue the exchange, I had to Sonido away and keep moving. Otherwise, I would be caught up in blasts. What made their attacks more efficient was that they were back to back. I didn't have the time to counterattack so I bid my time. The best bet would be to destroy them with a Kamehameha. Having no better idea, I began charging up my skill while keeping on circling them. Upping my speed.

With a roar, I zig-zagged to the brawler one's front. I unloaded my attack in a huge blast and was slightly worried when my attack met small to no resistance at all. I immediately rolled to the ground. I made good in following my instincts as the brawler appeared beside me for a punch. It was hurt, but still ready to go. This time, I was not going to waste the opportunity thought. Rebounding on my feet and with Sonido I caught the brawler in the neck and continued advancing even thought it punched me with all its might. Roaring, I managed to destroy its neck with a cero. The satisfaction momentarily made me lower my guard. The blaster took the opportunity and sent me reeling away with a highly concentrated cero. Well, that's how it felt. I don't know if it was rushed or not but it did hurt nonetheless.

I panted as I crashed away. I wondered why there was no follow up attack. The hollow wouldn't let this occasion pass, right?

I struggled to stand up and looked at where the cero came from only to see Nelliel standing above the downed blaster.

I blinked " What happened?"

The female adjuchas ignored my stupid question and casually strolled over " That was impressive Monkey." She commented offhandedly and presented the corpse to me. " For you."

' Ookay.' I thought to myself as I finally caught up. Not to look ungrateful though, I thanked her before I devoured my meal quickly. My reserves were instantly replenished. I leveled up which allowed a full restore.

At this point, there's no holding back on allocating my stat points anymore. After all, I almost died a second ago.

" How long are we going to stay here?"

" As long as you want." She answered, obviously still in her good mood. " We're in no rush."

I was still not used to seeing her like that. " ...I'm going to train for a while."

With that I walked away to train fire manipulation because frankly, right now the skill was utterly useless. Sucking in a heavy breath, I formed a flame in the palm of my hand. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the flow of reiatsu. Memorizing it and trying to control. Kind of easy with how much points I dumped in int. Opening up my eyes, I slowly intensified the flow of reiatsu.

 *** Congratulations! You have discovered the base of Fire Manipulation!***

 *** Fire Manipulation has been boosted to level 5.***

" Yes!" I pumped my fist in the air. Dispersing the flame at the same time. From now on, call me the fire god...nah, that's lame. Inferno? No, I need something better, something that strikes fear into my enemies. Something like... Inferno Predator. Fuck, where did that even come from? My mind? Ugh, I'm going insane God. How sad. I think I'm gonna stick with Monkey. It...suits me better.

With Higher Detection currently unreliable. It's better to be prepared for all eventuality. So, no wasting reiatsu left and right training. I dropped to the ground and quickly dumped 140 SP into Wis. Rounding it up to 250 which boosted my reiatsu recovery rate to 2.40%. And 100 SP in strength and dexterity both.

It's now time to try that reiatsu hiding thingy. I sat cross legged and concentrated on the flow of reiatsu in me. Just like all these other anime protagonists did. And it was not a surprise anymore to actually feel something on my first try. I smiled and tried to compress it. It was harder than expected. But I had a way around it.

" Stealth." I smirked and was rewarded with a notification that showed me that I created a skill.

 **Stealth lvl 1 [1%]** : Reduce your reiatsu output by 10% at the cost of reduced performance.* I activated it and joined Nelliel who was busy staring in the distance.

" They're grouping up again." She informed as I sat beside her. " What are you going to do?"

She stopped whatever she was doing with her silent observation and turned to me. I contemplated on her words. Waiting here would be ideal for me. Picking up the eager ones.

" How about staying here for a little while?"

 **Stats** *

Name: Monkey

Lvl 123 (41%)

Race/Class: Higher Hollow / Low Rank Adjuchas

HP: 20600/20600 reg/min (2%)

Reiatsu: 11964/11964 (2%)

Str: 576

Dex: 376

Sta: 476

Int: 400

Wis: 250

SP: 38

PP: 1

Ok, I know that some of you are not going to be happy with the party system. And I am not that happy with it either. Main reason is because it is overpowered. And it complicates my job.

That's why I toned it down so the only advantage Nel will get is a partially active gamer's mind and body. Nothing more. And it just simplify my work. Review people and feel free to point out any obvious errors!


End file.
